Students calculate acceleration due to gravity with the measurements of the period of a pendulum or measurements of the time for an object to fall from different heights. They observe and measure the effect of air resistance on the...

Students calculate the speed of an object, by measuring the amount of time it takes to cover a given distance, and then divide: speed=distance/time. However, the object may not have been moving at a constant rate over the given distance....

Students use batting averages to provide a measure of a player's past success. They use Algebra to calculate required performance to improve the average. Students compare baseball batting statistics early in the season and late in the...

Students use the reaction time to figure out problems. They use the following example to get them started with reaction time: the edge of a ruler is placed near a person's thumb and index finger and, without warning, the ruler is...

High schoolers use the metric system to convert equations. They use a conversion table to change from metric units to the units they are more comfortable with (Fahrenheit temperatures, miles, quarts, pounds.) Students use algebraic...

Students are introduced to the concept of Energy Conservation with the example of: Tony Hawk seems to defy the conservation of energy as he keeps reaching new heights on each pass on the halk-pipe. Actually, Tony is supplying the extra...

High schoolers are given the background information to open the lesson: Suppose a penalty kicker in soccer could choose where he could kick from, as long as he stayed on the back line of the penalty area. Would he have a better chance of...

High schoolers discuss the conservation of momentum in a collision between two bumper cars. They are given the equation for momentum. Students then solve problems using the equation for momentum.

Students are introduced to potential and kinetic energy through the example of a ball being thrown straight up in the air. They are then told that the energy associated with the position of the object is referred to as potential energy....

Students are told that the weight of a car is equal to its mass multiplied by the acceleration due to gravity. When a car is at react on a horizontal road, there must be a normal force with which the road pushes up on the car to keep it...

Learners are told what a coordinate system is and also that it provides a way of uniquely describing each point on a plane or in space. They are given a practice problem along with the equation. Students solve the following problem:...

Students simulate the motion of a fly ball with different winds. They use a partner to provide the simulated wind. Students draw a baseball diamond and the field on a piece of paper. They drag the pen across the paper to show the path of...

Students discuss and give examples of Newton's three laws. They then answer questions in reference to Newton's three laws. One example of the questions that students answer is: A water-skier typically uses a 75 foot tow rope. The skier...

Students understand that a spreadsheet can be used to find the best scale to use in a model. They place the distances of the planets of the solar system to the Sun in one column of the spreadsheet. Students try different scales so that...

High schoolers are given the difintion of translational motion, which is the object in motion stays in motion. If you are in a car and the car stops, you keep moving. They then discuss rotational motion, which is a spinning object...

High schoolers calculate the height of a tree or flagpole. They measure the shadow of the tree or flagpole and the length of a shadow of a meterstick. Using similar triangles, calculate the heigh. Devise two additional ways in which to...

High schoolers are introduced to rotational inertia with some example of objects that rotates: Throw a Frisbee acroos the field and it rotates as it moves. The same is true for a baseball and a football. The two motions, translational...

Students practice calculating the moment of inertia when discussing a skater and the position in which it is best to spin. After class discussion, students practice calculating inertia on their own.

Students are introduced to drag. Then they summarize drag by saying that the drag is proportional to the square of the velocity. Students then solve problems an example of such a problem: Explain why swimming underwater is faster than...